Google News Matteo Berrettini makes deeply honest confession regarding brutal luck with injuries
by DZEVAD MESIC
Matteo Berrettini admits he reached a point this year where he simply "wasn't enjoying the process of coming back" anymore and just "wasn't mentally ready to face the challenge." After not having much luck with injuries in previous years, Berrettini's injury woes continued in 2023.
Last year, Berrettini had a surgery on his right hand and also tested positive for COVID on the day of his Wimbledon first-round match. Earlier this year, Berrettini missed most of the clay season due to an abdominal injury.
At the US Open, Berrettini retired his second-round match due to an ankle injury and he hasn't played since. “There are many, many reasons why I was really sad. First of all, obviously because I couldn’t compete, which is the thing that I love to do.
Then there was another thing that came in. I wasn’t enjoying the process of coming back. Unfortunately [in the past] I had many injuries, but I always found, not the joy, but the challenge of coming back and feeling kind of like, okay, now I put the work in," Berrettini admitted, via Tennis Majors.
Berrettini: Mentally I wasn't ready to face the challenge
“When I was feeling something on my body, I was really struggling. I went down. Mentally I wasn’t ready to face the challenge,” Berrettini said. After retiring injured at the US Open, Berrettini's initial plan was to try to return before the season ends.
But in late October, Berrettini announced his season was over. “It was just really important for me to stop and think a little bit and take my time. Because the body and the mind, they go together," Berrettini said. For now, Berrettini's main priority is to return to feeling fully healthy and ready. If everything goes fine, Berrettini should be able to play at the 2024 Australian Open.